The current thread on Saint Barbara is fascinating. I had my wife, who is
Cuban and born on Santa Barbara's day (December 4) read the messages, and
she can add the following:
in Cuba the European Santa Barbara is associated with the Yoruba god
Chango, god of thunder and lightning, and is considered very auspicious.
There are numerous songs about her, and she is held to be very powerful.
She is usually portrayed holding both a chalice and a sword (i.e. uniting
female and male principles), and often positioned beside a castle. Santa
Barbara is equally important in the religious life of Puerto Rico.
My wife doesn't know whether Santa Barbara is associated in Cuba with
miners - perhaps some other reader does? She is definitely a patron saint
of soldiers, though, as per Roger Donan's message.
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David J Killick
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0030
Phone (520)621-8685; FAX 621-2088
[log in to unmask]
http://www.mse.arizona.edu/faculty/killick.html
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